The invention relates to a hard metal or cermet body with a hard material phase of WC and/or at least one carbide, nitride, carbonitride and/or oxycarbonitride of at least one of the elements of Group IVa, Va or VIa of the classification of elements and a metal binder phase of Fe, Co and/or Ni, whose proportion amounts to 3 to 25% by mass.
The invention relates further to a method for producing such a hard metal or cermet body through mixing, grinding, granulation and pressing of an initial mixture containing the corresponding components and subsequent sintering thereof.
In EP 0 344 421 A1 a cermet is proposed which should have either an average grain size of the hard material phase in the surface layer as compared to a core with a penetration depth of 0.05 mm, ranging between 0.8-1.2 times of the average grain size of the hard material phase in the cermet body core, or at the same penetration depth has a binder phase which ranges between 0.7 to 1.2 times of the corresponding average binder content of the cermet core, or wherein the hardness in the aforementioned penetration depth ranges between 0.95 and 1.1 times the average hardness of the cermet core. For the production of this cermet, the initial mixture is sintered after grinding, mixing and preliminary pressing. In a first step it is sintered under vacuum or in an inert gas atmosphere at up to 1300xc2x0 C. or below, while in a second step it is sintered at over 1330xc2x0 C. at a nitrogen pressure of 0.1 to 20 Torr (13.3 Pa to 2.66 Paxc3x97103 Pa). The nitrogen pressure is increased with increasing temperature.
The EP 0 368 336 B1 describes a cermet substrate with a hard surface layer, wherein the region with the maximal hardness lies at a depth between 5 xcexcm and 50 xcexcm from the substrate surface and the substrate surface has a hardness of 20 to 90% of the maximal hardness. For the production of this cermet the prepressed mixture is subjected to an initial temperature increase up to 1100xc2x0 C. in vacuum and to a subsequent temperature increase from 1100xc2x0 to a temperature range between 1400xc2x0 C. and 1500xc2x0 C. in a nitrogen atmosphere. It is subsequently sintered in vacuum.
The EP 0 374 358 B1 describes a method for producing a cermet with 7 to 30% by weight of a binder phase and a hard phase of titanium carbide, titanium nitride and/or titanium carbonitride with 35 to 59% by weight Ti, 9 to 29% by weight W, 0.4 to 3.5% by weight Mo, 4 to 24% by weight of at least one metal from the group of Ta, Nb, V and Zr, 5.5 to 9.5% by weight N and 4.5 to 12% by weight C. The formulated, mixed, dried and prepressed mass is sintered in such a manner that the temperature is increased in vacuum to 1350xc2x0 C., whereby the nitrogen atmosphere is set at 1 Torr (133 Pa) at 1350xc2x0 C., the partial nitrogen pressure together with the temperature of 1350xc2x0 C. are gradually increased up to the sintering temperature, whereby the nitrogen atmosphere is set at 5 Torr (665 Pa) at the sintering temperature.
The EP 0 492 059 A2 describes a cermet body, whose hardness at a penetration depth of no less than 1 mm is higher than in the cermet interior, whereby the binder content can be reduced in a layer thickness of 0.5 to 3 xcexcm with respect to the core substrate. The cermet should have a hard material coating whose thickness ranges between 0.5 to 20 xcexcm of carbides, nitrides, oxides and borides of titanium and Al2O3. For the production of this body a green compact is at first heated under vacuum to a temperature between 1100xc2x0 C. and 1400xc2x0 C., then nitrogen gas is introduced up to a pressure level at which the partial nitrogen pressure ranges between 5 and 10 Torr (665 and 1330 Pa), so that the nitrogen is removed from the substrate surface. The sintering and the subsequent cooling are performed in a non-oxidizing atmosphere, such as a vacuum or an inert gas atmosphere. After that the body is coated by CVD or PVD.
The production of a super tough cermet is proposed in EP 0 499 223, wherein the relative binder concentration in a 10 xcexcm thick layer close to the surface is 5 to 50% of the average medium content of binder in the cermet core, and in the underlying layer of 10 xcexcm to 100 xcexcm penetration depth the binder content at 70 to 100% in relation to the cermet core. In the method used therefore the sintering is performed under nitrogen gas with a constant pressure of 5 to 30 Torr (665 to 3.99xc3x97103 Pa) and the cooling is performed under vacuum with a cooling rate of 10 to 20xc2x0 C./min.
The EP 0 519 895 A1 discloses a cermet with a triple-layer border zone, wherein a first layer reaches to a depth of 50 xcexcm TiN, the next layer to a depth of 50 to 150 xcexcm penetration depth with a binder enrichment and the next layer of 150 xcexcm to 400 xcexcm is conceived with a binder reduction relative to the inner cermet core. For this purpose the sinter body is treated in an atmosphere of N2 and or NH3, optionally in combination with CH4, CO, CO2 at 1100xc2x0 to 1350xc2x0 C., for 1 to 25 hours at atmospheric pressure or at a pressure above 1.1 bar (1.1xc3x97105 Pa).
The cermets known to the state of the art have at their surface either different binder contents, which can be recognized by their spotted appearance, or tend to adherence of the binder to the sinter substrate, which due to the thereto related reaction, leads to changes in the composition of the contact zone. A further disadvantage of the cermets known to the state of the art is that, at increased contents of metal binder in the surface, the adhesion of thereto applied wear-resistant layers is poor. To the extent that the nickel proportion increases in the surface, CVD coating becomes impossible. Therefore the DE 44 23 451 A1 proposes a cermet which has a hard material content of 95 to 75% mass and 5 to 25% by mass Co and/or Ni binder, whereby the hard material phase consists of carbonitrides with cubic B1 crystal structure and 30 to 60% by mass Ti, 5 to 25% by mass W, 5 to 15% by mass Ta, up to 70% by mass of which can be replaced by Nb, 0 to 12% by mass Mo, 0 to 5% by mass V, 0 to 2% by mass Cr, and 0 to 1% by mass Hf and/or Zr. The (C+N) content in the carbonitride phase should be  greater than 80% by mol, whereby the nitrogen content ratio N/(C+N) ranges between 0.15 and 0.7. In a certain surface depth of 0.01 to 3 xcexcm, the proportion of the binder phase with respect to the underlying cermet core area is lower than 30% by mass. In this zone the titanium content is 1.1 to 1.3 times higher than in the underlying cermet core area, while the contents of tungsten, tantalum, as well as any content of molybdenum, niobium, vanadium and/or chromium are present only in an amount of 0.7 to 1 times in relation to the underlying cermet core areas. In an alternative embodiment of this cermet in the same surface border zone the relative content of binder phase is 90% by mass, the relative Ti content 100% to 120% and the sum of contents of tungsten, tantalum and optionally molybdenum, niobium, vanadium, chromium ranges between 80% by mass and 110% by mass, each in relation to the inner cermet core.
This border structure according to the aforementioned reference is produced through a process of cermet manufacturing, according to which the green compact produced through mixing, grinding, granulation and pressing is at first heated under vacuum up to the melting point of the binder phase at a pressure of 10xe2x88x921 mbar (10 Pa). During the further heating from the melting temperature of the binder phase to the sintering temperature, which is maintained from 0.2 to 2 hours, and a subsequent cooling to 1200xc2x0 C. a gas mixture of N2 and Co is introduced into the oven atmosphere, with a N2/(N2+CO) ratio between 0.1 and 0.9 which fluctuates within a period of time between 40 to 240 sec around a pressure on the average of 10% to 80% of an average pressure. The average pressure as well as the aforementioned ratio are selected depending on the binder content.
The EP 0 687 744 A2 also describes a nitrogen-containing sintered hard metal alloy with at least 75% by weight and a maximum of 95% by weight of hard phase content, containing titanium, an element of the Group VIa of the classification of elements and WC, the balance being a binder phase of nickel and cobalt. The alloy has 5% by weight to 60% by weight titanium in the form TiC and 30% by weight up to 70% by weight of a metal in the form of a metal carbide. The sintered hard metal alloy should have a soft outermost surface layer, consisting of a binder phase and WC. Below this outermost layer lies a layer with a thickness of 3 xcexcm to 30 xcexcm, which should consist substantially of WC with low metal binder contents.
A sintered hard metal alloy of the aforementioned composition is also described in EP 0 822 265 A2. The sintered body produced accordingly should have a border area subdivided into three layers, of which the outermost layer has a WC-content between 0 and 30% by volume, the balance being binder phase, the middle layer has 50% by volume to 100% by volume WC, the balance being binder phase and a third innermost layer has a WC content by volume between 0 and 30%, the balance being binder.
It is the object of the present invention to create a hard metal or cermet body suitable for CVD or PVD coating, whose surface insures an improved adhesion capability for the layers of hard materials deposited from the gas phase, such as diamond, cubic boron nitride, carbon nitrides, fuller""s earth, as well as metallic hard materials (carbides, nitrides, carbonitrides or oxycarbonitrides of the elements of Groups IVa-VIa of the classification of elements), as well as other layers which contain at least one of the elements B, C, N or O.
This object is achieved in a hard metal or cermet body which, according to the invention, is characterized in that WC crystallites project from the body""s surface by 2 to 20 xcexcm, preferably by 5 to 10 xcexcm. By means of these crystals a coarse-grained surface morphology is produced, which insures the adhesion of the applied surface layers due the interlocking of the crystallites with the deposited phases. These WC crystallites are embedded in the border zone adjacent the surface in such manner that even while grinding test work is performed they are not dislodged. The created surface roughness provides an ideal xe2x80x9canchoringxe2x80x9d for the application of surface coatings.
The WC content in the total hard material phase of the hard metal or cermet body ranges between a minimum of 50% by mass and a maximum of 96% by mass. Preferably the WC crystallites at the body border zone or surface, form a composition with up to 50% by volume of a cubic phase of a further hard material of a different composition and binder metal parts. This cubic phase can consist substantially of carbides, nitrides, carbonitrides and/or oxycarbonitrides of at least one element (with the exception of W) of the Groups IVa, Va and/or VIa of the classification of elements. The cubic phase can be conceived as single-phased or multi-phased. It can consist for instance of Ti(C,N) and (Ti,W)C. Also metals of Groups IVa, Va and/or VIa of the classification of elements, preferably W, Ta, Nb, Mo and Cr can be incorporated in the structure of the hard metal or cermet body, particularly in border zones close to the surface of the body. The cubic phases in the border zone can have either a homogeneous structure or a local grain border structure, as is basically known in cermets.
The present invention comprises especially cermet bodies whose phases with cubic crystalline structure contain 30 to 60% by mass titanium, 5 to 15% by mass tantalum and/or niobium, 0 to 12% by mass molybdenum, 0 to 5% by mass vanadium, 0 to 2% by mass chromium, 0 to 1% by mass hafnium and/or zirconium, whereby in the binder phase up to 2% aluminum and/or metallic tungsten, titanium, molybdenum, vanadium and/or chromium are dissolved.
The border zones close to the surface can be substantially homogeneous or have a gradient in their composition. They can have surface-close border zones of different compositions, whereby in a first outer layer at the body surface and reaching to a depths between 2 xcexcm and 3 xcexcm there is a carbonitride phase substantially free of binder phase, which borders an underlying middle layer with a thickness of 5 xcexcm to 150 xcexcm of a substantially pure WC-Co-composition, and which is followed by a third innermost layer with a thickness of at least 10 xcexcm and a maximum of 650 xcexcm, wherein the content of the binder phase and of the IVa and/or Va elements increase to the corresponding values which in the body interior are substantially constant, while the tungsten content decreases to the substantially constant value thereof in the inner body. The different layers of the aforedescribed sintered body blend continuously into one another, whereby preferably titanium is used as the metal of the carbonitride phase. The content of titanium and/or of a further element of the Groups IVa to VIa of the classification of elements, with the exception of tungsten, is at a maximal level in the outer layer, decreases steeply to a minimal value in the transition to the middle layer, and increases gradually in the transition to the third innermost layer, to a penetration depth of approximately 800 xcexcm measured from the surface, reaching an average value corresponding to the content in the total composition in the body interior, which however is below the level of the titanium or other metallic parts in the outer layer. Correspondingly the nitrogen content in the middle layer is minimal and increases in the transition to the outermost layer to proportions above the average nitrogen content of the alloy present in the inner core. By contrast, in the transition from the outermost layer to the middle layer the contents of tungsten and cobalt increase clearly. Optionally the hard material phase WC can be formed already during sintering from (Ti,W)C or (Ti,W) (C,N). Preferably the binder phase content in the middle layer amounts to maximum 0.9 times the binder phase content in the body interior, while the tungsten content in this middle layer amounts to at least 1.1 times the tungsten content existing in the body interior.
Alternatively it is also possible to have such border zones wherein the individual layers are not strictly separated from each other, but wherein the respective contents of metallic and non-metallic components of the alloy change gradually over wide transition areas. A body according to the invention can fulfill the following conditions in three layers forming the border zone:
In an outer layer, which closely follows the body surface or the border zone with a penetration depth of 1 to maximum 3 xcexcm and reaching down to a depth between 10 xcexcm and 200 xcexcm, the tungsten and the binder phase content amount to a maximum of 0.8 times the content resulting from the general composition. In this layer the tungsten and the binder phase content increase substantially continuously towards the body interior, while the nitrogen content decreases continuously towards the body interior. In an underlying middle layer of a thickness between 20 xcexcm and 400 xcexcm, with the advancing penetration depth the tungsten and binder phase contents pass through a maximal level, while the contents of elements of the Groups IVa and/or Va of the classification of elements pass through a minimal level. In a third innermost layer, which reaches to a penetration depth measured from the body surface of maximum 1 mm. the tungsten and binder phase contents decrease to the substantially constant values in the body interior, which correspond to the content in the general composition, and the contents of elements of the Groups IVa and Va of the classification of elements, particularly titanium, increase to the substantially constant values. The nitrogen content remains substantially constant in the transition from the middle layer to the innermost layer towards the body interior.
The alloys of the body of the invention can contain up to 2% by mass chromium and/or molybdenum, as well as between 3 to 40% by mass TiCN or up to 40% by mass TiC and/or TiN in the hard material phase TiCN.
Advantageously the hard metal or cermet body of the invention is coated with at least one hard material layer and/or a ceramic layer (Al2O3) or diamond, cubic boron nitride or similar layers.
In the case of nitrogen-free mixtures of hard materials and binder metals, the same are pressed into a green compact and at first are heated in vacuum to approximately 1200xc2x0 C., and subsequently in an inert gas atmosphere to a temperature between 1200xc2x0 C. and the sintering temperature, whereafter at the latest when the sintering temperature is reached, an atmosphere containing nitrogen and optionally carbon is set at a pressure between 103 and 107 Pa, preferably between 5xc3x97103 Pa and 5xc3x97104 Pa. To the extent that the sintering temperature may not yet have been reached, the heating up to this temperature continues and the same is maintained over a period of at least 20 minutes, or in this interval of at least 20 minutes only a slight cooling of maximum 2xc2x0 C./min is performed. In the subsequent cooling of the sintered body, the set nitrogen and optionally carbon atmosphere is maintained until at least 1000xc2x0 C. are reached.
If the initial mixture contains nitrogen proportions of at least 0.2% by mass in relation to the total hard material mass, the nitrogen-containing gas can be introduced later into the oven atmosphere, however at the latest when the sintering temperature is reached and, corresponding to the nitrogen content in the initial mixtures, it can be introduced also at a lesser partial pressure. In any case it has to be insured through the process and/or the initial mixture that there is a sufficiently high carbon content and tungsten content for the formation of the WC crystallites at the surface. In certain cases the sintering time has to be correspondingly extended.
In a variant of the process it is also possible to set the nitrogen-containing and optionally the carbon-containing atmosphere by introducing precursors, i.e. nitrogen-containing and optionally carbon-containing crucible materials, so that under the existing temperature and pressure nitrogen and carbon are formed in situ.
The size and frequency of the WC crystallites can be influenced by the time period and by the gas composition while the sinter body is at eutectic temperatures. Thereby longer treatment times and a higher content of carbon lead to larger and/or more frequently occurring WC-crystallites.
In an embodiment of the invention, the sinter body is heated up to 1200xc2x0 C. during the heating phase and this temperature is maintained for at least 20 minutes, preferably more than an hour, before continuing the further heating up to the sintering temperature.
Within the framework of the present invention there is also a process technology wherein, at first, in the heating phase up to approximately 1200xc2x0 C., the body is exposed to a vacuum, which is then replaced by an inert-gas atmosphere (e.g. a noble gas atmosphere).
The inert-gas pressure of 103 to 104 Pa is maintained until the sintering temperature is reached, after which a nitrogen-containing and optionally carbon-containing atmosphere is established at a higher pressure of more than 104 Pa above 1450xc2x0 C., preferably close to 1500xc2x0 C.
According to a further embodiment of the invention, after a holding period of at least 0.5 hours, the sintered body of hard metal or a cermet can be subjected to a xe2x80x9cpendular annealingxe2x80x9d, i.e. to a temperature setting wherein at least once, preferably several times, the temperature surpasses or falls below the eutectic melting point by at least 20xc2x0 C., preferably at least 50xc2x0 C. in an oscillating manner. Preferably the heating and cooling rates, as well as the speed with which the heating and cooling rates surpass or fall below the eutectic melting point are at maximum 10xc2x0 C./min. However cooling and/or heating speeds between 2xc2x0 C./min and 5xc2x0 C./min are preferred.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the gas mixture atmosphere of N2 and CO established after the sintering temperature was reached, can be selected with a ratio of N2/(N2+CO) between 0.1 and 0.9.
Finally within the framework of the present invention, it is possible, after reaching the sintering temperature, to set pressures oscillating around an average of the atmosphere containing nitrogen and optionally carbon, whereby the pressures deviate by 10 to 80% from an average value selected depending on the binder material. A corresponding process technology is explained for instance in DE 44 23 451 A1 to which reference is made.
According to a further embodiment of the invention, the surface of the finished sintered compact can be subjected to an etching treatment by means of gases or liquids, through which the WC crystallites are more clearly defined due to relief formation. This step can be particularly useful for the removal of binder metal parts from the substrate body surface, since these are particularly undesirable in the case of a diamond coating.